Howard by benjamin nielsen

[raw]
made by benjamin nielsen for Ludum Dare 49 (JAM)

Howard.gif

Centuries of human carelessness has rendered most of the planet’s landmasses completely uninhabitable. The few habitable islands left remaining are defenseless against the onslaught of tides and volcanic eruptions that viciously shake them and toss the inhabitants like dirty laundry into the sea. In order to prevent hundreds of people from meeting a watery grave, the planet has begun hiring Giants to balance the landmasses holding what’s left of humanity.

You are a Giant named Howard. You’ve fallen on hard times due to the turbulent Giant economy, but luckily, you have just learnt of this lucrative job prospect. While your hiring manager has told you that your explicit task is to keep islanders from being swallowed by the ocean, insufficient man-power leaves you largely unaccountable, and thus, your only performance review is your own conscience. Will you do your best to keep Islanders from drowning, or will you expedite the tragic, painful deaths of the happy island nation?

Controls:

Use WASD to move, space to jump, mouse movement to look around. you can also swim :)

Credits:

Ben - Coding and materials

Bimgus - 3d modelling and animations

Shrub - Music and sounds (and, like, one island)

Ratings

Overall 1226th 3.125⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Fun 1063th 3.125⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 747th 3.3⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Theme 449th 3.85⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 1034th 3.275⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Audio 377th 3.65⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Humor 97th 4.075⭐ 22🧑‍⚖️
Mood 833th 3.342⭐ 21🧑‍⚖️
Given 25🗳️ 8🗨️

Feedback

rucksack
04. Oct 2021 · 20:02 UTC
I can't access the itch page, I need a password :(

EDIT: I can play the game now. Quite a silly game, I love it! Audio and visuals together create a very cute atmosphere. The lack of any external performance review is a bit sad, I don't know why he doesn't make himself independent as a freelance island balancer giant. But at least I can catapult houses into the water as a form of protest!
AdamJN
04. Oct 2021 · 20:13 UTC
Itch page is locked by a password buddy. We cant play the GAME!
SnubbishShrub
04. Oct 2021 · 20:21 UTC
AAHH!! That's not good! I can give you the password for now while some lovely people fix up the page. It's "howard".

Yeah, we're not very good at making passwords...
Denhette
04. Oct 2021 · 20:35 UTC
Love the little sounds the islanders made. Not sure if you can actually 'win' the game, but my vocano got stuck on some other islands for a long while. Islanders seemed pleased about it. 7/10!
Quoc
05. Oct 2021 · 22:28 UTC
Sweet little, enjoyed playing it :D
Unicorn Studios
05. Oct 2021 · 23:02 UTC
Is it bad that I laughed at the little villagers drowning to death after they said they can't swim? Really goofy 5 minute game with some hilarious characters, would definitely recommend!
Myles Doupe
06. Oct 2021 · 00:24 UTC
I want Howard to be my best friend. Even if that means he kicks my house into the ocean. "Oh, that's okay, Howard. Still on for board games Saturday?" I'd say. "As long as we're not playing at your house." He'd reply. Then we'd both have a good laugh.
Lazzor
09. Oct 2021 · 17:41 UTC
As some of the previous commenters already pointed out, the strength of your game definitely lies in the audio and mood department. The villagers sounds are just plain adorable! :D

Regarding the gameplay, I think a display of villagers (alive/drowned) would have helped to get an overall grasp of the situation. Also it felt a bit random at times because it was not always clear for me if and how I could still "rescue" a drowned villager. But I suppose that's also kind of the premise of the game so that's fine!

Overall I really liked it, good job!
Ozfolo
10. Oct 2021 · 23:28 UTC
Great game, very funny, fits the theme well
jelch
12. Oct 2021 · 23:00 UTC
This game made me laugh!
SimonL
16. Oct 2021 · 23:23 UTC
I think the game has a good premise and the mechanic has potential. But in the current state it is hard to play.
Howard moves very fiddly and the island gets stuck in weird positions more often than not.

I liked the music track and the sound effects.

With a little bin more polishing, like streamlining the controls and having an actual objective, the game would be even better.
jk5000
18. Oct 2021 · 07:43 UTC
Weird and funny.
Its_F4llen
20. Oct 2021 · 17:00 UTC
good game! the music was a bit loud but its enjoyable!
LDJam user 269161
20. Oct 2021 · 17:27 UTC
It was funny and as jk500 reviewed it "weird". I'm missing the "game" here, put in a timer and a survivor counter and then we can start getting highscores :)
FancyReckless
20. Oct 2021 · 17:27 UTC
Pretty funny game. Physics were a bit whacky, but it seemed like that kind of game. Some goal/score system might be cool.